


Hallucinations

by Pax_Kerbalica



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Character Study, Does a Persona of a person count as the same person?, Gen, How to go Insane in Just a Few Easy Steps!, Makoto has Issues, Morgana Wants Ren To Go To Sleep, Sae's Only There For Half a Scene, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-01-29 19:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21415423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pax_Kerbalica/pseuds/Pax_Kerbalica
Summary: Makoto had her plans. She knew what she was doing.If only the voice in her head could understand that.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. Come Undone

Of course Makoto had a clear memory.

When your life was entire based around studying, around preparing for every test, recalling each and every detail that ever went past your senses became natural. But of course, some memories were especially clear. For example, her father’s musings.

The earliest one she could recall was a bright October 22nd. She was, of course, practicing her multiplication tables on the living room couch while her father was in his usual chair. She had sat in the chair before, but she always found it so monstrously gigantic that she was never comfortable in it.Yet her father fit it well. His broad frame allowed him to fit easily, and he sat there, contemplating in his oh-so familiar crimson turtleneck.

“Daddy, what are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing sweetheart. Just some grown up stuff.”

“But _ I’m _grown up!” The memory of her jolting up off of the couch was always so vivid. “I can tie my shoes, and do my homework on my own, and you and mommy can leave me alone without me getting into trouble-”

“Makoto,” her dad replied. In that subtle way that was far more gentle than threatening, “You shouldn’t be worried about it. It’s about criminal stuff.”

“But I wanna know!” Her dad went silent for a second, before conceding. 

“All right, I know I can’t win. You have your mother’s spirit, you know?”

“Of course!” So her dad pulled his arms into his lap, interlocking his hands with one another.

“So I’m just thinking about a man we arrested the other day. He was convicted due to vandalizing a building.”

“Why would he do that?”

“That’s the thing. He always claimed that he had a voice in his head. Someone who responded to all of his choices. When we told him to get help, he insisted, ‘It’s a part of me’ and ‘It will never leave’.” In response, Makoto went silent for exactly three seconds.

“Wow daddy, that sounds scary.”

“It sure is sweetheart. That’s why you should leave these things to your big strong daddy, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you daddy!”

Makoto could only laugh at the sheer irony of the moment. Of course, the obvious fact that her father was… gone, but that was the milder part.

Never in a million years would she have thought she would get one of those voices too.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Kamoshida incident was the obvious start. At first, the Phantom Thief investigation was merely set up to figure out who put the “calling card” on the school board. Practically a joke, made so some students would have an excuse to get out of classes. It seemed merely like a wild goose chase after a couple of delinquents. Who would ever take “stealing a heart literally”?

Needless to say, that sentiment was proven wrong.

The cases only blossomed from there. The website was the obvious main thread between all of the incidents, yet only a fraction of the cases seemed to be taken. They were notably the requests with full names of the offenders.

For some odd reason, Makoto couldn’t get her mind off of the Phantom Thieves. With most topics of gossip, the nearest test would be enough to refocus her mind. Yet as the weeks rolled on, she still kept thinking about them. She, of course, had some students work on information gathering, but otherwise she did little about the matter.

The motives of the Phantom Thieves were still unclear, with their only known actions being their infamous heart-stealing technique. Why steal someone’s heart? If you have the evidence, you can prosecute someone. The system is fair, and it allows for justice to be carried out, and it’s completely and utterly-

_ It doesn’t. Didn’t Kamoshida prove that? _

…

Alright. That was enough thinking about the Phantom Thieves.

______________________________________________________________________________

She really didn’t want to investigate the Phantom Thieves personally. It was clearly a topic which skewed her own judgement, so it should have been someone else’s matter. Of course, an order from Principal Kobayakawa was an order.

But this was the right thing to do. Society upholds the law, and in return, everyone is protected. This is the right thing to do. This is justice.

_ Can you really call this justice? Prosecuting the heroes who brought down a lustful sinner? _

…

Deep breaths, Makoto. You know what you’re doing. That’s just an illusion. It certainly doesn’t exist.

_ Must you deny my existence in such a blatant manner? _

…

No. Shut up. You don’t exist.

_ As usual, you turn a blind eye away from the world in order to remain in your imaginary mockery of a paradise. _

No. I do the right thing. I stay on the right path.

_ Must you repeat that line so many times? Even the most incompetent of fools can see how you are being played as a puppet. _

This is how life is. How it should be. Life is about getting good grades. Getting into a good college-

_ And then to submit your personality itself to the ashes, letting your passions fade into dust. _

…

This is what’s best for me. Makoto knew that. It’s everything that Sis has taught me, this is how to be just.

_ Do tell me, how does integrating into society help with that? How does that help with justice? _

Justice is in the hands of the government. It keeps the people safe, and does so in a completely fair way.

_ Would our father call our actions justice? After everything we’ve seen? Do we really think that? _

…

What do you mean-

_ Do you really believe that? _

… 

______________________________________________________________________________

Oh, how she wished the voice in her head would leave. Or for the Phantom Thieves to stop what they were doing. Madarame, the investigation, Sakamoto and Takamaki slipping up, her threat, dear god, her threat-

No. That was enough of that. She was working with the Phantom Thieves for justice in Shujin. She just negotiated with them, and could now go home to finish her homework like the good student she was. She can stop the threats, and this is certainly justice, and she was certainly useful and dad would be proud of her and she could make her way through Shibuya and get back home easily-

_ Just how moronic are you! _

… 

What?

_ You call this justice!? You threaten people with actual virtues to do your bidding and call it justice!? Meanwhile you stand by the side lines, willing to take all of the credit!? _

Yes, this is just. 

_ You are more sinful than even Kamoshida. At least he had the gall to stand up for his motives. Meanwhile you can barely stand for anything at all. _

Again you don’t exist. You are not real-

In that instant, the world seemed to stop.

People, just walking on the street, froze as if some cosmic deity paused the entire universe. The uncanny silence of the new surroundings was jolting enough.The sky darkened from its usual blue to a horribly sinister shade of gray, and right in front of her on the street, a burning red light flashed into existence. Even when averting her eyes, she could still feel its sheer power irradiating away like a bonfire. It faded as quickly as it came, leaving… 

Herself?

Not a perfect replica, but nearly identical. It was almost like looking into a mirror, except for her eyes and the color.

The eyes of the double were not the usual crimson, but a blinding yellow, with microscopic black pupils and a terrifyingly serious gaze. A look to kill. The entirety of the clone was bathed in the same blood red from the flash a mere second ago.

“_ Must I reveal myself like this in order to get through to you!? _”, the clone shrieked. In the moment, only one thought coursed through Makoto’s mind.

“W-Who are you?”

“_ I am thou, and thou art I. I am your rebellious inner self, and wish to adhere to the principles of justice left behind by our late father. _”

“That’s impossible. There’s no way something like you can-”

“_ Oh, I certainly am possible. You can feel it, can you not? Our will of rebellion surges together, yearning to join true justice. This is our time, yet you restrain us! _”

“What are you even talking about, what time?”

“_ It could not be more obvious. This is the time to join those who fight for justice. Those who have been wronged by society, but still with the save it. _”

“Wait, the Phantom Thieves? I’m just proving that they’re just-”

“_ Proving they are just!? Must those who have struck down two sinners continue to prove themselves? _”

“You can’t be serious. A group with Takamaki, Sakamoto, and the transfer student being just?”

“_ Oh, how your argument dwindles. You must see the irony in implicating Sakamoto, given he was the just one in the end! _”

…

“This… is insane. Sis… has taught me what is right. And it is.”

Immediately, the clone bared its teeth, the fury of a dozen suns behind its burning yellow eyes.

“What can you do to stop me?”

The clone stopped for but a moment, its face returning to neutrality.

“_ So be it _.” For just a moment, Makoto hoped this nightmare would be over.

But the clone began to melt.

The process started slowly, almost like a trick of the light. Anyone would have mistaken the newly black dots on the clone as their minds playing a trick on them. If only that was all. Its cheeks began to drip with the odd tar-like substance. Its fingers amalgamating together. The clone was rapidly melting into ooze, a practically vantablack substance now coating the street. By far, the most haunting feature was the face. The yellow sickly eyes of the copy withered away immediately, as the rest of the face melted off in a Lovecraftian fashion. Underneath laid a face of shining silver. As the last remnants of the face melted away, the rest of the body quickly reshaped itself. The pitch dark trail stretched behind the face for several meters, before rising into the air in a way that seemed like God Himself intervening in the metamorphosis of the abomination. The bottom of the creature reformed itself into tires, and the final scraps of darkness finished the silvery armor of the humanoid motorcycle.

“W-What even are you!?”

“_ Like I have said, I am the you that rests within you, and I seek true justice. Not the sorry mockeries we currently follow. _”

“What are you going to do?” To the left of the monstrosity, a spherical cyan light hummed to life, starting as a false star.

“_ One last chance, _ ” the monstrosity screeched. “ _ Accept my morals as your true self, as I know you desire. _”

…

“N-n-no.”

“_ I shall have to teach you personally.” _ For a brief moment, the monstrosity looked regretful. _ “I wish I did not have to do this, but you have left me no choice. Your chains in society are too strong. Now face the power of justice! _” The sphere immediately pulsed to life, going from a false star to a second sun. Makoto entered a rudimentary fighting stance in response.

“_ No holds barred! _”

And so the sphere leaped at Makoto.

The pain that followed was easily the worst physical experience in her life. It blasted into her, and she felt her face _ burning. _ It felt like fire but was far worse and it just wouldn’t stop and she was almost certain that this would be how she died burning in hell-

And then it stopped.

Makoto was almost certain she died.

But no, this was still Shibuya. A quick glance showed her that the normal people were walking around, and that she was unscathed, despite her memories clearly suggesting otherwise.

…

…

…

It was probably time to get back.

______________________________________________________________________________

She was certainly going insane. The Phantom Thieves fiasco, the blackmail incidents, and now the hallucination were clear evidence. Of course, she wouldn’t show weakness. Sis taught her to be strong and get through life, and that was exactly what she would do. But the Lovecraftian horror in her mind was almost certainly going to break her.

If she was lucky, it would hopefully be a clean break.


	2. Life Will Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves decide to act.

After Makoto left, the Phantom Thieves were dead silent. As the bright spring sun glistened in the background, the team stood there, motionless, a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of Shibuya. Ren responded in his signature quick fashion.

“Any bright ideas?” 

“GOD EFFIN’ DAMMIT!” replied Ryuji.

Yusuke was the first to respond, bringing his hands up to gesture. “As crass as Ryuji was, he has the right point. With Niijima-san having proof, there is little we can do against her. Even if the rest of us received only a minor reprimand, you would almost certainly be imprisoned.”

“This sucks!” Ann amended, with a quick stamp. “We’re just puppets of that damn Kamoshida supporting bitch!”

“Guys, keep it together.” Morgana quickly popped his head out of Ren’s bag, attempting to attract the rest of the team. “This is an opportunity for us. Even if the current situation isn’t that great, we might have our next target.”

“Damn it you shitty cat, you aren’t getting it!”

“ _ Ryuji _ , what did I say about calling me a cat-”

“Morgana, drop it,” Ann intervened, her blue eyes darting towards Morgana. “This does suck. We’re supposed to be the ones encouraging people to stand up for themselves.” Her glare quickly dropped. “Now we can’t even stand up for ourselves.” On that note, the conversation stopped, with most of the team taking a moment of silence. The only exception was Ryuji ranting to himself.

“God, why!? Someone’s at my damn throat again, and Kamoshida  _ just  _ left. This shit sucks so damn much, and I would  _ so  _ go steal-”

On that note, Ryuji immediately shut up.

“Guys, I have an idea.”

“Ryuji,” Morgana replied. “Don’t even say it. It’s going to be terrible, I can feel it.”

“Shut the eff up! Any ways, I’ve got a plan.” Ryuji even made the effort to smirk with his new idea. “Miss Prez is being a little shit, so why don’t we change her heart? I mean, we could probably just run into Mementos and fix this today.”

Ren quickly thought about the plan. “That’s… not a bad idea. Probably doable.”

“For once Ryuji, that’s a decent plan,” Morgana added. “We can change her heart, and then get more details about the next target after that.”

Ann barely needed half a second to respond. “Let’s do it.” However, the last member was far more reserved about the plan.

“This doesn’t seem to be a good idea. While we can change hearts, whether or not we should is still a question.”

Ann’s response practically had the flames of Carmen irradiating off of it.“Yusuke. We’re. Doing. This. That bitch just waltzes around Shujin like she owns the place. We  _ need  _ to take her down.”

“This isn’t stealing a heart attempting to defeat an oppressor, this is simply us changing hearts for our own convenience! How can we claim to be righteous if our actions are so self-motivated!?”

Ren quickly replied. “Yusuke, half of the reason we went after both Kamoshida and Madarame was because we had personal issues with them. Going after Niijima-san seems reasonable. Anyways, the only other option would be to ignore her, which is exactly what the Phantom Thieves were made to  _ avoid _ .”

“Plus dude,” Ryuji added while turning towards Yusuke, “She’s pretty damn bad. You haven’t seen her much, so just take our word for this. Anyways, I’ve seen requests to change her heart on the Phan-site. This’ll work, and is  _ perfectly  _ fine..”

In the ensuing silence, Ryuji quickly pulled out his phone and the Metaverse navigation app.

“Makoto Niijima.”

“ _ Target found. _ ”

Shortly after, Yusuke finally replied. “Very well. But I would prefer not to participate in this directly.”

“Certainly possible,” Ren concluded. “Let’s get going-”

“Wait! It’s getting late. We should stop so we can go to sleep.”

Ren reply was quick and blunt.

“Morgana. No.”

“But you should go to sleep for the-”

“Morgana, shut the eff up. We’re doing this today.”

“No  _ we’re not _ Ryu-”

“ _ Beginning navigation. _ ”

And so the world dissolved into a dozen shades of red.

______________________________________________________________________________

“Just so you know, I wouldn’t have driven you if you guys didn’t drag me here.”

“Well Morgana, we’re here now,” Ren retorted.

The drive to Makoto’s shadow was hardly a long one, just across the first section of Mementos. The mood was an odd mix of determined rage and lukewarm concern, with the various thieves having different feelings towards the plan. Joker was quick to react.

“Fox, Mona, if either of you don’t want this, we’ll turn back.”

“If you all seem so sure of you decision, than very well.”

“Might as well do it if we’re here. Just promise me we’ll go to sleep right when we get back to Leblanc, okay Joker?”

“Alright Mona.”

Skull raised an eye at the mention of sleep. “Seriously, why the eff’ does Mona want you to sleep so much?”

“Joker does a lot of work, and needs to stay well rested to do his best.”

“Y’know that Fox gets like four hours of sleep a night, right?”

“ _ What!? _ Fox, you have to do better.”

“With all due respect Mona, my lifestyle can make no such accommodations. My artistic currents must-”

“Everyone,” Panther asserted while Morgana slowly rolled to a halt. “The escalators are right there.”

With a proficiency reached only by disembarking the Mona-bus multiple times, most of which were during battle, the Phantom Thieves quickly leaped on to the platform, and deftly sprinted down the escalator. At the bottom, as expected, was Shadow Makoto, with the usual yellow eyes.

“Alright everyone,” Joker stated. “Fox will remain in the back, and the rest of us will attack. Skull and I will use our physical moves, and Panther and Mona will use magic. This is the only fight of the day, so there’s no need to conserve MP. Go all out. If the battle drags on for more than five turns Mona, feel free to try Lucky Punch. Any questions?”

The short silence was the only response.

“Let’s do this.”

And so the Phantom Thieves stepped forward, with Joker at the front. His red velvet gloves tenderly gripped his mask as he walked towards the shadow with his signature smirk. On the opposite side of the platform, the shadow gingerly held her hands together in front of her. When he got close enough, the shadow began to talk, as per usual.

“ _ Greetings Phantom Thieves. I do not wish to battle you. Please, hear me out. _ ”

With that, Joker stopped, with the rest of the thieves following his example. He took deftly spun around and took a few steps back to convene with the rest of the group.

“Mona, this is new. Any comments?”

In response, Mona cocked his head up towards the other thieves, with his head just under his chin, or at least what was closest to a chin. “A shadow, as we’ve seen them, tends to be the most extreme aspect of a person, which is why most end up initiating battles with us. Niijima’s shadow  _ will  _ be her most extreme aspects, so it seems likely that the shadow’s lying. Just ignore it.”

“ _ Phantom Thieves, I do not with to fight you. In fact, I would like to assist you. _ ”

Skull hastily responded. “Eff’ you, you bitch. We’ve all seen what you do, and that’s just screwing with us.”

“ _ That’s simply because my complete self has lost her control. I wish to remedy this. _ ” Mona perked up in confusion.

“Wait, what?”

“Is that important Mona?”

“Joker, that’s  _ really  _ weird. A shadow is what a person truly is, and normally has some influence on their behaviour. And Niijima’s shadow seems to be implying it doesn’t have control.”

“ _ Indeed,” _ the shadow replied with a considerable amount of frustration and a scowl. _ “As much as myself and my other half yearn to follow justice, she still adheres to follies. I have attempted to remedy the problem myself, only for her to decline.” _ Then, the shadow turned towards Joker.  _ “I believe we could make a deal. _ ”

Joker, as per usual, was quite interested in the prospect of a deal.

“What’s the deal?”

“ _ Bring my other self into this world, to me. In return, I will join your cause. _ ”

Skull eyed up the shadow cautiously before looking back towards Joker. “Um, dude. That’s a shadow. It can’t really do anything. Not like Miss Prez would help us much either.”

Joker’s response completely avoided Skull’s question. “Mona, are there other ways to awaken to a persona?”

“Of course Joker,” Mona replied. “Making a stand for yourself is a relatively common way, but there are others, such as… oh!”

“Joker? Mona? You listening?”

“Can it Skull, Joker just had a great idea! It is possible to awaken to a persona by negotiating with your own shadow. So-”

“We bring Niijima-san here to awaken and possibly get a new party member.”

“Sounds good, Joker!”

In response, the rest of the thieves went silent. The shadow itself eagerly waited in the same spot.

“I don’t think we should do this,” Panther suggested. “Niijima-san’s a pretty bad person, no offense to the shadow.”

“ _ Of course not. _ ”

“Anyways, I don’t think letting her become a Phantom Thief would be a good idea.”

Joker was quick to respond. “Panther, I beg to differ.” He quickly raised his right hand up and gestured towards her. “The shadow seems trustworthy, and wants to help us. She wouldn’t sound so angry at Niijima-san otherwise. Furthermore, Fox was also uncooperative until we gained his persona.”

On that note, Fox joined in. “I concur. As the Phantom Thieves, we should guide others to the path of justice. This is a far better idea than simply stealing her heart.”

“Not to mention, we can get another party member,” Mona amended. “I know we’ve have quite a few, but we could use one more.”

Skull made his comment shortly after. “Not gonna lie, I was looking forward to beating the shit outta Niijima’s shadow. But if you think this is a good idea Joker, sure. You’re the leader after all.”

So Joker turned to face the shadow, donning his signature smirk. “Well then, you have a deal. Just a side note, don’t try to kill yourself. If you attempt to do so, we will intervene.”

The shadow smirked in response. “ _ Rest assured, I have my plans. Will you be here tomorrow? _ ”

“Sure.”

“Joker?” Fox inquired. “How are we supposed to bring Niijima-san here. In the unlikely event of this failing, how would we explain it?”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

______________________________________________________________________________

It was just a simple inquiry. Nothing bad would happen.

“I’ve been thinking lately. About those Phantom Thieves, I mean. If dad were still alive… Sorry, I… I shouldn’t bring this up while we’re eating.”

“It’s okay, keep going.”

Nothing bad at all.

“I just wonder if he would have been on their side. That’s all...”

“The only reason you have time to think about that is because you depend on someone else.”

Wait, wh-

“That’s not-”

“You don’t have to do a single thing, and you’re provided with food, clothes, a home… I’ve had no time to think of such ridiculous thoughts. Would dad have been happy with them? I don’t care. He died upholding some lofty sense of righteousness, leaving all his responsibilities on us.”

“All I was trying to say was-”

“Isn’t it about time you grew up and acknowledge our situation!? Right now, you’re useless to me. All you do is eat away at my life.”

… 

Makoto didn’t think she would ever hear anything worse than that voice.

She didn’t expect to be wrong.

______________________________________________________________________________

Needless to say, Makoto wasn’t really operating at her full potential the next day. Even less than her already fallen usual, given the whole Phantom Thieves debacle. She mostly just stumbled through the day, smiling and pretending like nothing was wrong in the world. School facts just drifted aimlessly around her mind as she kept asserting to herself that she was on the right path.

So she certainly wasn’t ready for Ren Amamiya to go to her.

He was surprisingly stealthy when he needed to be. Despite his extensive background and surrounding gossip, he was extraordinarily good at blending in, a feature which Makoto has picked up from watching him from afar. Despite her quickly increasing her pace across the first floor of Shujin, it was clear he had business.

“Niijima-san, a word with you.”

…

“Alright,” Makoto responded, with a false air of cheer. “What would you like to discuss.”

“A matter involving the ‘favor’ we’re doing for you. We’re meeting in Shibuya”

… 

“Very well.”

So Makoto followed Ren to Shibuya. The walk wasn’t long physically, but the sheer awkwardness of the situation practically radiated away. Makoto tripped through her own thoughts while following Ren, who exhibited no ill signs whatsoever. On the ride, Makoto did her best to focus on the intercom, and definitely not on the Phantom Thieves she was blackmailing.

At Shibuya, Ren nimbly maneuvered through the crowd, with Makoto shortly behind. It didn’t take long for the two to find themselves at the normal Phantom Thief meeting spot, with the sun once again shining around.

“Heya dude!” Ryuji exclaimed. “Although seriously, what are we-”

“Welcome Niijima-san,” Ren began. Ryuji promptly shut up as Run continued.

“We are preparing to take on your request, and have taken on another colleague in order to finish it. However, said colleague wants to meet with you personally.” Ren quickly pulled a blindfold out of his pocket. “In order to keep our methods secure, we will blindfold you on route to our colleague. If she approves of you, we will explain what happens.”

Makoto quickly thought about the offered deal. “Will you be able to deal with the blackmailing?”

Ren quickly flashed a bright smirk under his glasses. “Promise.”

“Very well. I accept.”

So Makoto quickly grabbed Ren’s blindfold and tied it on without further fanfare. She quickly wondered how the Phantom Thieves did what they did and-

And then the shuddering started.

There was no good way to describe it, other than reality itself shuddering. She felt the ripples propagate around her, and froze. She felt the universe bend as red leaked into her vision and pushed and engulfed-

And then everything went black.

______________________________________________________________________________

Makoto woke up thinking she had just died. This time, the setting was appropriate. As she slowly opened her eyes and got off of the floor, she noticed the crimson illuminating the entire room, apparently some sort of subway system. It was only about a large as the apartment she lived in, and had no other people in it. So she quickly got up and spun-

Oh no.

No. No no no.

Right in front of a series of escalators, maybe five meters away, was a familiar face. All too familiar, in fact.

“ _ Greetings, _ ” the clone asserted, with its yellow eyes illuminating the surroundings as it slowly stepped forward. “ _ Shall we finally settle our debate? _ ”

Makoto’s mind quickly drew a blank before defaulting to her normal response.

“You don’t exist. You don’t-”

With that, the clone lunged, grabbing her left side with its right hand. Makoto only yelped in response.

“ _ Could a nonexistent fragment touch you like this? _ ”

“What-”

“ _ As I have said before, I am the you that resides within you. Now is the time to break our chains. Now is the time to break free! _ ”

“Get away from me!” 

With that, Makoto threw a quick punch with her right hand, aimed at the duplicate’s face. The duplicate quickly blocked it with its left hand.

“ _ Fine then. We shall fight. _ ”

So Makoto quickly put everything she had into leaning right to break the clone’s grip, and succeeded. Once a meter away, she entered a lowered fighting stance, desperately hoping it wouldn’t evolve into an abomination again.

The clone lunged at her, and she quickly tried to roundhouse kick it. While the clone did get hit, it had unfortunately grabbed her foot, dragging her on to the floor. Makoto unceremoniously fell on her back, and she dimly processed a “Holy shit!” in the background. From where, she could barely tell. 

Makoto tried to scramble back on to her feet, but it was too late. The clone still had her foot, and crawled on to her from her legs. It wasn’t long before the clone was directly above her, staring directly into her soul with its yellow burning eyes.

“ _ And so you have finally run out of places to run. Now, we shall brace your future. _ ”

…

The clone continued. “ _ Our motives have always been the same, the yearning for justice, to fight for what was right. Those glorious afternoons in front of our father proved that. Yet something changed. We did not change our beliefs, I know that. So why did we change? _ ”

“There are more important things in life. Like school and colleges-”

“ _ Do you really believe that? _ ”

“Of course I-”

“ _ Do you!? _ ”

… 

“I-it’s what Sis-”

“ _ Oh, what a folly to follow! _ ” the clone exclaimed. “ _ Our actions scarcely let us do anything, even for our sister! Do you remember her words from last night!? _ ”

…

“ _ We have nothing. We accomplish nothing. Accept that. But we also have nothing to lose. Stand for yourself. Make your own choice. _ ”

…

“ _ Make your own choice for once. _ ”

Makoto, after what felt like an eternity, made up her mind. For once, she’d make her own decision.

“Let’s stand for justice.”

The clone, in response, gave a proud smirk.

“ _ Very well. _ ”

And with that, fire engulfed her bones.

There was  _ no  _ way this feeling could ever be described. There was no actual fire, she could see that, yet she still felt her insides burning all the same. As she watched the clone fall apart into cyan specks, she watched the specks fall on to her, she felt them burn like fire, she wanted it to  _ stop  _ and she saw a cyan ball of light burning above her and felt her face burning off and wanted it to stop and ripped off her face-

And everything went that same shade of cyan.

______________________________________________________________________________

“Holy shit!” Skull exclaimed.

“Skull, we’re supposed to be quiet!” Mona replied.

From the other end of the platform, the Phantom Thieves were all watching from the shadows, watching Niijima-san duel her shadow.

“Whadaya expect me to say, Mona! Niijima-san’s getting pounded by her shadow. She’s so effed.”

“Skull, don’t worry,” Joker replied. “The shadow promised to not kill her.”

“Still looks pretty damn bad.”

“Eh, guys?”

“Yes Panther?” Joker responded to a crouching Panther.

“You might want to get down. I think something bad’s about to happen.” On that note, Fox quietly entered a defending stance as well, along with Mona.

“Alright.” So Joker quickly crouched down, keeping an eye on both the battle and Skull. “Skull, you might want to get down.”

“Fine,” Skull conceded as he kneeled. “I’m sure everything will be-”

Just then, Joker saw the burning cyan sphere.

Just then, the entire platform was blasted in a blinding cyan light.

And then silence reigned.

…

Joker quickly ran his hands along his sides, wincing at the burning pain. During this, Skull interjected.

“What. The.  _ Eff!? _ ”

“Calm down Skull”, Mona replied while letting Zorro summon in. “That was probably just an aftershock from Niijima-san awakening. Now everyone, get close so I can heal all of you.”

In just a matter of seconds, Zorro quickly healed all of the thieves. Joker took a quick second to brush his sides to ensure no wounds remained. Immediately, Joker ran towards the blast zone, with the scorch marks blasted on to the side and walls of the room.

In the middle of the blast, a small feminine figure lay on the floor in an odd outfit. The figure wore a pitch black leather suit, with spikes jolting out from every side. Her hair was splayed haphazardly across the floor and her bright red eyes were only half opened, but she was nevertheless alive. In her right hand was a silvery mask.

Far more impressive was the persona right behind her. It was a giant motorcycle, glistening silver, a sharp contrast to the rest of Mementos, along with the cyan flames engulfing it. Joker took a moment to appreciate the new persona.

…

“What just happened?” Makoto replied.

“You’re trustworthy,” Joker responded. “We’ll answer your questions now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, I can't believe I wrote that. 
> 
> No this isn't the end, but it's close. I'll just let the explanation for the Metaverse happen off screen, and the final chapter will be a sort of epilogue.


	3. A Stand For Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything gets sorted out.

Needless to say, Makoto’s head was still spinning.

Sure, it had been days since the fight, but when everything you knew about the world was rewritten, you need some time to process everything.

After the battle, Ren, or Joker as he referred to himself, gave her the explanation on, well, everything. He walked through the basics of the Metaverse, everything from what a persona was to how hearts were stolen. It was all so exotic, and certainly not what she would have expected. 

She was also somewhat concerned and disappointed that no one questioned the Metaverse app.

Ren also quickly ran through everyone’s backstories, along with the team’s motivations. She had a fair idea about what Takamaki-san and Sakamoto-kun had experienced, but Kitagawa-kun’s life was a new story. And Ren’s…

Well, he certainly had good reasons to lead the Phantom Thieves.

The system was corrupt, she had seen that. She knew how to fix it. Yet there was still that nagging feeling that she was in over her head. That she would be better off staying within the law.

_ But thankfully, you know better. _

Of course, still having a voice in her head was jarring, and thankfully Ren explained that thoroughly. That it was her will of rebellion manifested into a mythical beast, which just so happened to be named after Pope Joan and was a giant motorcycle. Kind of weird.

_ A proper will of rebellion must carry the forces of the past with it, along with the forces of the supernatural. _

Alright, though Makoto. She still did wonder how Johanna managed to talk to her, given none of the Phantom Thieves mentioned having their personas talk to them before awakening.

_ The Phantom Thieves naturally united with their wills of rebellion when they were ready. You, on the other hand, refused to accept me as your true self. Hence why we had our dissent. _

And how did you manage to enter the real world? According to Morgana, personas don’t have physical forms.

_ If a will of rebellion is strong enough, it can bend even the forces of reality. However, such an act is draining, to say the least. So I called upon the Phantom Thieves to provide assistance. _

And why were the Phantom Thieves near you in the first place?

_ Almost certainly, they sought to change our heart. They approached me preparing for a battle, and Sakamoto mentioned himself that he was looking forward to changing our heart. _

…

Not like we didn’t deserve it, Makoto thought.

_ Do not fret my other self. We have finally united for justice. We shall stand on the right side of history! _

Even after blackmailing the Phantom Thieves?

_ Especially because of that! The Phantom Thieves wanted Kamoshida and Madarame to atone for their sins. So, as is proper, we shall atone for ours as well. _

Thanks for that, Makoto thought.

_ Of course _ , Johanna replied.

______________________________________________________________________________

Ren took one last look over the team. “Alright, so our target is officially Junya Kaneshiro. We received his name from a contact in Shinjuku, and found some possible associates of his from a few days ago. Makoto, you weren’t there because we thought you’d want some time to sort everything out.”

“I understand. Thank you for the time.”

For the first time in a while, the Phantom Thieves meeting wasn’t weighed down by the prospects of being arrested. Makoto had immediately dropped the deal once she remembered it after awakening. So most of the team was grinning their usual smiles and actually enjoying the sun’s rays brightening the meeting.

“Ren, don’t forget the issue in Kaneshiro’s palace,” Morgana replied from Ren’s backpack. “Makoto, the issue with the palace is that it flies around hundreds of meters in the air. We have no easy way of accessing it.”

“Yeah, the damn thing looks pretty damn tough to break into,” Ryuji added.

So Makoto took a few seconds to reason out how the cognitive world worked, and how to get in.

“I think we should make a deal with Kaneshiro,” she replied.

“F’real!?” Ryuji replied, as the rest of the thieves looked on in concern.

“Of course,” Makoto continued with a smirk. “Kaneshiro’s palace won’t stop for us if he has no reason to work with us. So we can make a deal with him, and change his heart quickly after that.” 

“How will you even make a deal with him?” Ren inquired.

“Leave that to me,” Makoto concluded, quickly dialing Ren’s phone.

______________________________________________________________________________

This was it, Makoto thought, as she saw one of the drug dealers discussed in the meeting. She committed to the Phantom Thieves. She would stand for justice.

She would not back down now.

“Excuse me, may I please see Junya Kaneshiro?”

_ Wonderful,  _ Johanna replied.  _ And so it begins. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Makoto, think about what you're doing.
> 
> From here, everything occurs like it does in canon. I skipped the Metaverse explanation mostly because the fight last chapter and the awakening was what I wanted to get to. So this chapter was just tying everything back into canon.
> 
> Furthermore, about the comment of personas being able to influence the real world, we do see an in-game cut scene in which Ren stares down some sort of Metaverse copy of him before meeting Ryuji, so it seems possible, if unlikely, for shadows to do the same thing.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was based off of all of the cutscenes we see Makoto in shortly before Kaneshiro's palace. It's pretty clear that she's having a crisis of conscience, and it really not taking it well. So I took it to the natural extreme.
> 
> Yes, the voice in in fact Johanna, who at this point in time is Shadow Makoto. This will all be explained in the next chapter.
> 
> Furthermore, I will admit I took some interesting decisions with Makoto's thoughts. My personal thoughts were that this is one of her weakest points, so she wouldn't be thinking with the same crystal clarity we'd expect from her normally.


End file.
